Cellulosic-Based Ethanol Plant Planned by Range Fuels to Start Construction Next Month

---

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Privately held Range Fuels Incorporated (Broomfield, Colorado) plans to start construction next month on a cellulosic-based fuel ethanol plant in Soperton, Georgia. A ceremonial groundbreaking event is planned for November 6, 2007, and the company expects to start turning dirt at the site on November 12, 2007.

Georgia is covered with pine trees, and Range Fuels plans to convert the cell walls of the plant fiber into sugars and ferment them into fuel ethanol. Initially, the plant will produce about 9 million to 10 million gallons of ethanol annually, with potential to produce to more than 40 million gallons per year of the renewable fuel.

CH2M Hill (Atlanta, Georgia) has been hired to engineer the estimated $225 million project and will also act as the construction manager. Construction is expected to take about 14 months to complete, and the plant is expected to be online by January 2009.

Producing ethanol from cellulosic material is the future of ethanol production. Some 29 cellulosic ethanol plant projects are planned across the country, representing more than $2.4 billion in capital spending. The price per gallon to produce ethanol from cellulosic feedstock is much higher than traditional corn feedstock; however, as technology develops in the coming years, producing ethanol from biomass could surpass the country's 7 billion gallons currently produced annually from corn.

Industrial Info's Ethanol Database provides a comprehensive outline of all current development activities in the emerging alternative fuels market. This database covers 123 ethanol plants in operation and 290 plants under development. It also covers 32 operational biodiesel plants and 75 biodiesel plants under development.

View Plant Profile - 1072143
View Project Report - 17002443

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading marketing information services company for the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy-related markets throughout the world. For more than 24 years, IIR has provided accurate and timely intelligence through products such as plant and project information databases, focused market databases, industry forecasting, key industry contacts, industry and territorial map products, direct marketing services and applications, and daily industry news.